1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an installation for fighting fire in a space, the installation including a spray head of such a type that it is capable of producing extinguishing medium in the form of a finely divided liquid mist with a great penetrating ability and a simultaneous suction near the spray head.
2. The Prior Art
Such installations are known from the publications WO 92120453, WO 92/22353 and WO 94/16771. These known installations have proved to function very well for fire extinguishing. To prevent the drop size of the extinguishing liquid from becoming too large, an installation in which gas is mixed into the extinguishing liquid has been disclosed in WO 94/08659. As a result of the intermixing of gas, it has been possible to keep the drop size comparatively small during the emptying of an hydraulic accumulator.
Some spaces, such as rooms for computers and other machines, contain, in addition to expensive machines, bundles of electric cables, which in the event of a fire cause great damage. The electric cables typically have a plastic mantle of PVC. If a fire breaks out in such a room and the cables catch fire, poisonous fumes are formed and these fumes are not only dangerous to humans but also destroy sensitive machines, such as computers. Known installations for extinguishing such fires are not capable of rapidly extinguishing a fire with a small amount of water. The use of something else than a water-based extinguishing medium, e.g. halogen, for extinguishing produces chemicals that are harmful to the surrounding, wherefore the use of a water-based extinguishing medium is to be preferred. It is important that the quantity of water used for extinguishing a fire is not large, since the water damages can then be kept small.
The present invention relates to a new installation which has, if desired, a simple construction and with which a fire in a space, e.g. a room, can be extinguished very efficiently so that the smoke gases and fumes are purified and the amount of extinguishing liquid used can be very small at the same time.